Crimson Rain
by GLEN RUDE
Summary: Derek is a young man with a bright future. He is an all star high school quarterback but he is much more than that. In the middle of balancing sports, school and his relationship with Sophia he begins to have strange dreams that eventually become nightmares. These nightmares begin to drip into reality and the mysterious Amoreena seems to be behind it all.


**Crimson Rain**

**Chapter 1**

School has just dismissed out for the day at Bentley High School. It is a surprisingly mild day for being this late in October. It is also a Friday which explains the reason why the kids storm the parking lot with an extra amount of exuberance. Friday is a great day when you are a teenager! There is a buzz going on all day as they anticipate football games, parties and those other all-important plans with friends. This is the scene that is taking place as Derek spots his friend Steve walking through the parking lot. Steve and Derek are both seniors at Bentley High. They met each other freshman year when they both went out for the Crimson Warriors football team. They both made the team, Steve as a wide receiver and Derek as quarterback. They have been friends and teammates ever since.

Despite the fact that Steve and Derek are both on the football team they are quite different individuals. Steve has short blond hair, blue eyes, a tan that never seems to fade and a small earring in his left ear. He is extremely outgoing, and football and girls are really all that he cares about, besides his cherry red 1976 Mustang convertible that he washes virtually every day. Steve rarely ever does his homework, but he knows that the teachers will always pass him anyway. No teacher would want to be the reason the team lost the "big game" because it lost one of its "star players."

Derek, on the other hand, has medium length brown hair and eyes. He enjoys being on the football team but it does not completely encompass his entire life. He is quite a bit more introspective than Steve. Derek loves classic rock music and spends hours listening to it and practicing songs on his guitar. Derek does do his school work and earns good grades. He could take the easy road like Steve does, Derek is the quarterback after all, but he doesn't want anything given to him that he hasn't earned himself. That is a trait that he picked up from his father.

"So, Derek are you goin' to Rob's par-tay tomorrow night or what!?"

"I don't know Steve; I thought I might just sit this one out. I'm really not in the mood."

"Dude, are you crazy!? This party is gonna be lit! Rob's parent are out of town, so the whole house is his! You KNOW it's gonna be all kinds of honeys up in there! Especially after we win the game tonight! You ain't still mopin' around because of Sophia are you? Man, that girl has done a number on you! Got you always walkin' around with your head down all the time. There will be some girls at the party that will help you lose these blues, if you know what I mean. You don't have to worry about arguing with them either, heck you don't even need to talk to them the next day! Ha ha!"

Derek didn't want to admit to Steve that he was right. Steve might be an arrogant jock, but he was perceptive, and he knew Derek. Derek and his girlfriend Sophia had been on the rocks lately. They were still a couple and everything but they had been fighting a lot. Derek didn't even know what about most of the time. He did know that he still cared about Sophia deeply and wanted to make things work. When he thought about the conversation they had a few days ago it really bothered him. Things just hadn't been the same lately. He almost texted her but he was trying to give her some space. Derek was sure that she would be at the game. That would be his chance to set things right. Then, he realized he hadn't gone to her swim meet on Tuesday. He never misses one of her meets. He heard she did great too. She won as usual.

Derek sighed and realized how stressed out he was thinking about Sophia. Sometimes he wished he could be more like Steve and just go around not caring about things and living life for the moment. Maybe his greatest curse was that he did care….maybe too much.

"Go ahead man, you can tell me all about it on Monday. Speaking of the game, we better get to practice" Derek says.

"I don't need to practice to waste those chumps tonight dude! Ha ha!" Steve says. "This is about to be a massacre! But I'll still go to practice, I don't want to disappoint any of the cheerleaders that loooooooove to watch me move!" Steve did a little dance step and swung his hips.

"You're sick bro!" Derek said while laughing.

Derek and Steve change into their gear and the team has a great practice. Derek put the thoughts of Sophia out of his mind and focuses on the task at hand. Derek knows that Steve is right, there is no way that the team will lose tonight. The boys work together like a well-oiled machine. Every player knows their job and does it perfectly. Everybody has their eyes on the state trophy, especially coach Stoker. He knows how good his team is better than anyone. This is probably the most talented group of players that he has ever coached. He keeps practice short and sweet. Everyone knows what they're doing, so there is no need to risk any injuries.

After practice, Steve hops in the "Stang," as he calls it, revs up the engine, VROOOOOOOOOOM! VROOOOOOOOOOOM, then lets the top down, turns up the bass and finally puts on his shades and smiles as he screeches out of the parking lot. Derek laughs and then turns around to walk home. The neighborhood that he lives in is only a few blocks from the school so it only takes him a few minutes to get there. Once Derek gets home he talks to his parents for a while. They have just gotten home from work and are getting ready to go out to eat and maybe do some shopping. Derek already knew they would be doing this before he even got home. They do the same exact thing every Friday night. This means, of course, that they never make it to any of Derek's games. He always ask them though anyway.

"Sure you guys don't want to come to the game tonight?" Derek asks.

"You know I don't enjoy that sport Derek," his mother says.

"I'll make it to the next game son, I promise," his father says.

Derek knows it's a lie. His father does whatever his mother tells him to do and he would never do anything to disappoint her. Derek is used to it though. "Maybe that's how they have stayed together so long," he thinks. "At least they are not divorced like Steve's parents."

"It's just so brutal. You KNOW I can't stand to see the sight of blood either," Derek's mother says.

"I don't mind seeing blood," exclaims Derek, "as long as it is not mine, and I don't plan on losing any blood tonight, or anytime soon."

**Chapter 2 **

Derek goes into his room after his parents leave. He picks up his guitar and starts to play. He manages to work out those instantly recognizable chords from the James Taylor song "Fire and Rain." Playing his guitar always helps him to relax before a game. It also helps him to forget about problems like whatever is going on between him and Sophia. This time, he gets a little t_oo _relaxed and dozes off…..he almost instantly drifts into a dream.

_What a surreal feeling it is to be inside of a dream. You do not know at the time that what you are experiencing is actually a dream. For all intents and purposes everything that is transpiring is completely and utterly real. Psychologists have tried to explain dreams for years, including everyone from Sigmund Freud to your local armchair therapist. Freud thought that dreams represented our repressed thoughts and desires. He believed that human beings pushed back feelings and thoughts that were deemed by society to be…. "unacceptable." These thoughts were then unleashed by the subconscious mind in the form of dreams. Some scientists would call this nonsense. They would contend that dreams are nothing more than electrons and neural impulses firing from inside of the brain causing images to form. Still, others would claim that dreams are gateways to the future, depicting scenarios that may or may not happen to us. The truth is that no one can really explain for certain the meaning behind our dreams. All that we know is that we have them. _

_As Derek's dream begins he is standing in front of a huge crowd of people. It is completely dark and everything that he sees, including himself and the crowd of people in the crowd are in black and white. When the people in the crowd see Derek they start clapping their hands and applauding energetically. He smiles and starts shaking people's hands. It's like he's the man of the hour, like he's the winner of one of those cheesy game shows or something. Derek looks across the field and on the other side he seems someone. SOPHIA. She is not cheering and laughing like the others. In fact, she is standing completely still with a blank and emotionless stare. Derek yells her name, "Sophia!" The crowd is cheering louder and louder drowning out his voice. Derek is running as fast as he can but the crowd is stepping on to the field and getting in front of him slowing him down. Their cheering has gotten so loud at this point it actually sounds like screams instead of cheers. "Sophia!" Derek yells again. She is turning around now and walking away. Finally Derek starts knocking people out of the way aggressively like he is in the middle of a game trying to repel the defensive players. He finally makes it to Sophia. He puts his hand on her shoulders and yells "Sophia!" She turns around but….it is not Sophia! "Wha!" "Who?" Derek says while out of breath. The girl takes off her hood and long blond hair begins flowing out from her head. She also has deep red lipstick and eyes that are so blue they are almost glowing. These magnificent colors are the only colors in this dream of black and white. In fact, for the first time Derek notices how truly beautiful this woman is. "Who are you?" "Where is Sophia? Derek yells. "Sophia is gone now my dear, I am here for you now. I always was here for you and I always will be. For all eternity." She then put her hand behind Derek's head and pulls it close to her. She then begins to kiss him. Not just any kiss either, but a kiss deeper and more passionate than any kiss he has ever experienced. He suddenly forgets all of his questions and gets lost in the euphoric feeling that are overtaking him from the kiss. It suddenly begins to rain all around them. He looks to see that the crowd has vanished and there is total silence except for the sound of the rain. The rain that is crimson red. _

RRRIIINNNG! RRRIIINNNG! Derek's cellphone rang. It was Steve. Derek didn't answer it but at least it startled him and woke him up. "That was some weird dream," he thinks. "I wonder what _that_ was all about!?' Derek is a bit embarrassed by this dream. It is completely normal for a young man to have dreams about encounters with beautiful women, but Derek doesn't usually have these kinds of dreams and he feels kind of strange about it.

"Maybe I'm just hungry," he thinks. He grabs a Slim Jim and a Snickers Bar along with an energy drink. He quickly takes off through the front door and rips open the Slim Jim and starts eating it as he makes his way down the sidewalk. He eats it in less than a minute and then starts gulping down the energy drink. In between swallows he manages to open and scarf down the Snickers Bar. By the time he reaches the school, he is feeling a lot better and is ready to concentrate on the game.

"Hey Derek, whussup, son!" Steve greets Derek as he enters the locker room. He then starts yelling loudly "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOOOOTBAAAAALLLLLLLL!"

"Just be ready for my passes, Steve, I might throw em' too fast for ya!" Derek jokes.

After a few inspiring words from Coach Johnson, the game is underway. Things seem to be going the way of the Crimson Warriors right off the bat. Although the Harding Hawks have the first possession, they make a clumsy pass which gets intercepted by none other than Steve. With the Bentley Crimson Warriors in possession of the ball, Derek makes some great passes and helps to move the ball down the field. On the fourth pass, J 'Ron Parker catches the ball and scores the team's first touchdown!

This is pretty much representative of how the game goes after this. It's like the Warriors can do no wrong. They score two more touchdowns, (the first by Steve and the next by J 'Ron) before Harding scores their first. This really angers Steve, which the whole team hears about at half-time. "Don't let em' score again! We were supposed to keep those losers at zero the whole game! They suck! They didn't deserve that touchdown!"

"Calm down Steve. We're winning bruh!" J 'Ron exclaims.

"No! They don't score again, you hear me! THEY DON'T SCORE AGAIN!" Steve yells.

"Ok, Steve, you've made your point," Coach Johnson says. "We've got em' right where we want em.' Now get out there and get this W!"

The team cheers and enthusiastically heads back out onto the field and plays the most flawless football they've played all season. Derek really is a great quarterback. He's better than he gives himself credit for. He's got a much better chance of going pro than Steve or J 'Ron, or anyone else on the team. If that is want he really wanted. It's funny how some people just have the natural talent when it comes to certain things. When Derek is off the field, he barely even thinks about football. He's usually reading or involved in his music, but when he steps on the field, he owns it. He conducts the team like Mozart conducting a symphony.

Derek gets ready to throw a pass, but none of the guys are open. He hesitates for a moment, "C'mon, c'mon, somebody's gotta get open," but no one is able to. Derek then turns out of nowhere to shake the defensive players coming straight at him and takes off down the field himself! Every second he expects someone to come smashing into him, pulling him to the ground, but no one does! He just looks ahead and pumps his legs faster and faster while being fueled by pure adrenaline! Someone is right behind him. It's over. No! They fall! He keeps going and YES! He scores the TOUCHDOWN!

Everyone begins cheering for Derek! He can hear his name being chanted. DEREK! DEREK! DEREK! He looks up into the stands, into the hundreds of people cheering for him. He then looks up into the stands, into the hundreds of people cheering for him and that's when he see _her, _beautiful girl with long blond hair that seems to shine and glisten underneath the stadium lights. He is transfixed on her until he hears, "That was awesome dude!" Steve runs up and slaps Derek on the shoulder, "YOU DA MAN!" "Uhhhh, thanks," Derek says with a startled voice. He instantly looks back up into the stands to see the girl….is gone. "Where did she go?" he thinks. "She's gone…..was she even really there?"

The game gets back underway. There are only a few minutes left in the game. Harding has still been held to scoring only once. They make some progress down the field but end up fumbling and turning the ball over. Their confidence is shattered. When Northland gets the ball again Harding barely even puts up a fight. Derek ends up throwing another touchdown pass to Steve, just to add insult to injury!

After the game, the players and the fans all run onto the field. Derek and Steve give each other a big hug. It's funny how sports are one of the only things that could make two men hug each other. Everyone on the team played great today, but Derek is the hero. Tonight, right now at this moment, he is a star! The crowd is yelling so loud it almost hurts his ears.

In the middle of the screaming and cheering he hears a voice. A voice as soft and sweet as music. "Derek" "Derek." The voice is quiet, yet somehow it is all that he can hear even among the roaring crowd of cheers. Derek turns around to see "her." The girl from the stands and, as he now realizes upon seeing her closer….the girl from his dream. She has long flowing blond hair, deep red full lips and eyes so blue that they almost glow. She is literally the most beautiful thing that he has ever seen.

"Looks like you are truly a hero," she says.

"Well you know, heroes are the ones that care the most," Derek says nervously.

"Why did I say that?" Derek thinks to himself, "idiot!"

"You are certainly not an idiot," the girl says. "You are by far the most intelligent out of this lot of heathens."

"Wait, I didn't say that out loud did I?...w-wait a second, who are you anyway? What's your name?"

"My name is Amoreena," she exclaims. "I have been watching you for a long time," she says with a smile.

"I feel like I know that buy why? I don't understand?" Derek exclaims.

"You will understand soon enough." Amoreena leans in and begins to kiss Derek. He closes his eyes and seems to be outside of his body and can't control himself. "What about Sophia?" and "I don't even know this girl" he tries to reason with himself. But to no avail, he is powerless in the passionate kiss almost as if he is in some sort of trance or spell that he can't break free of.

All of the sudden he hears another voice. "Derek!" "Derek!" "Yo Derek, we DID that! Ha ha! We smashed those punks!" It was J 'Ron. "Wassamatter man, all this cheerin' got you in some kinda daze or something? Ha ha!

Derek opens his eyes and….she is gone.

"I-I was just talking to…." Derek starts to say.

"Dude, you trippin! You know you just been standin' here by your sorry self! Steve sent me over to check on you!" J 'Ron says.

"R-Right," Derek says playing it off. "I was just taking it all in you know"

"Whatever my dude, c'mon, coach wants us back in the locker room!"

"R-right….right" Derek says shaking his head. He looks back one more time still confused about what just happened. Suddenly, it starts to rain...

**Chapter 3**

Derek wakes up Saturday with a renewed energy. He shakes off some of the events from yesterday as just random weirdness and plans how he can get his life back to feeling "normal." He decides he really wants to fix things with Sophia. "This has gone on long enough." He thinks to himself, "I need to fix this." Derek decides that some things must be done in person so he gets dressed and heads over to Sophia's house, praying that she answers the door. He rings the doorbell and waits anxiously. Sophia's father answers the door.

"Derek, I haven't seen you for a while, it's great to see you son."

"You too sir," Derek says.

"Great game last night. You DID let them score a touchdown though," Sophia's father said teasing.

"Hey, I'm the quarterback not a defensive lineman," Derek jokes in return.

"I know I can't beat you at football but I still have some hoops game left in me young man!" Sophia's father says.

"I know, but sir, didn't I win the last time we played one-on-one?"

"You know what that means Derek, you owe me a…..rematch!" Sophia's father exclaims.

"Any time sir! Ha ha!" Derek says.

"Ok, I know you're not hear to shoot the breeze with me. I'll go get Sophia," Sophia's father says.

Sophia's father closes the door and Derek waits for what seems like an eternity until….."Sophia!"

"Hi Derek," she says.

"I really mi", they both start to say.

"Sorry, you go first," Derek says.

"I miss you," Sophia says.

"I miss you too," Derek says. "I really missed miss you a lot," Derek says emotionally. "Do you want to…go for a walk?"

"Yes, that would be nice. I would like that," Sophia says.

Derek and Sophia begin to walk down the sidewalk. It is a cool fall day and leaves are falling off of the trees and blowing in the breeze.

"I'm sorry Derek, I've just had a lot going on lately, y'know? I think I was taking some stress out you and it had noth" Derek interrupts her.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm just glad to see you. To be with you." He takes her hand as they continue walking.

"I heard you came in first in the 100 at the swim meet on Tuesday. Looks like you're still the fastest thing in the water. Congratulations, by the way," Derek says genuinely.

"Well, you know, I'd live in the water if I could. Speaking of winning, you were quite the star yourself last night, weren't you?" Sophia says.

"Hey, I was just throwing it in the right places. It would have been nothing without Steve and J 'Ron," Derek says modestly.

"What about that touchdown you scored? You didn't need Steve or J 'Ron for that did you? Ha Ha," Sophia teases.

"Yeah, well, you know I know how to go after what I want," Derek says with a smile.

"Oh, do you, Mr. All Star? Well, what do you want?" Sophia says with a flirtatious smile.

Derek looks into Sophia's eyes and leans in to kiss her.

"You know that you are what I've always wanted," Derek says in a serious tone.

They both stare into each other's eyes for a minute and then Derek gets an idea.

"Look, we've both been stressed lately and maybe part of why we were having some troubles was because we weren't do anything fun together for a while. I know its late notice but….do you think you might want to go to Rob's party later?"

"Well, I do have some stuff on Disney Plus I was planning to watch tonight, but….." Sophia jokes.

"But what?" Derek prods with an anxious look on his face.

"Well, ok! Let's do it! It'll be fun!" Sophia exclaims.

"Sophia, I really do love you, you know," Derek says in a suddenly serious tone.

"I know football star. Now pick me up at 8. You will be able to use the car right? Ha ha," Sophia jokes.

"Ha ha! It may not be fancy like Steve's but it runs…most of the time," Derek laughs.

Derek walks Sophia back home and then he heads back home as well. He feels like he is on cloud 9! He is so ecstatic that things are back on track with Sophia and he is optimistic that their relationship will just keep getting better. Everyone goes through rough spells but things can only go up from here. Derek stops and looks up at the sun shining in the sky and smiles, "It can't rain all the time," he says. "It can't rain all the time."

Derek gets home and after breaking the good news to his parents and grabbing some lunch, he heads upstairs. He leans back on his bed with a book that he has been reading. All he can think about is Sophia. He closes his eyes and pictures her smiling face and then…

_Everything is black and white again. Derek is in the stands watching a swim meet. It is the pool at Bentley. He has watched Sophia race here before. Sophia is in the lead! "She will win for sure!" Derek thinks. "Go Sophia! You Got this!" Derek yells out excitedly. The other people in the stands are eerily quiet. "Why aren't they cheering?" Derek thinks. "Weird." Sophia still has a huge lead. Derek looks up to notice the signs and banners on the wall don't say Bentley, they say "Salem High School?" "Wasn't that the name of Bentley before it was Bentley?" "Why would"… He then looks back into the pool and sees the other swimmers suddenly start swimming faster and faster. In fact, they begin swimming so quickly it is almost unnatural. The way that sharks do when they are hunting prey. In a matter of seconds they have caught up to Sophia. Then the unbelievable happens. The swimmers begin looking menacingly at Sophia. They cross over and cut into her lane! "What is happening?" Get off of her!" Derek yells. The other swimmers start grabbing at Sophia. "Help! Glub, Hel-cough, cough!" Sophia yells out while water begins to go down her throat. Suddenly, all of the people in the stands start cheering and screaming loudly. "What is wrong with all you? She needs help!" Soon the swimmers hands begin to look more like claws than hands. They are scraping at her and pulling her down. Derek tries to get up to help her, but….he can't move. He is frozen. Sophia struggles but to no avail. The demon swimmers overwhelm her. They drag her underneath the water and they disappear with her. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Derek yells, while his body is still frozen. They cheering gets louder and louder until it sounds like blistering screams. "Shut up! SHUT UP! STOOOOOOPPPPPPP!"Derek yells while closing his eyes tightly. Suddenly….it is quiet. Completely and utterly quiet. In fact, Derek looks around to see that no one is there. All of the people in the stands are gone except for one person…..the girl…..Amoreena. Again, in this world of black and white. Blond hair. Blue eyes so bright they are almost a glowing white. Deep red lips. She looks at him. She smiles. Her teeth are oddly sharp. "Hello again Derek," she says menacingly. "Help!" Derek screams. "Sophia! Help her! HELP HER!" There is no helping her Derek", Amoreena says in a cold whisper. Derek looks back into the pool. Into the black and grey water of his dream. Suddenly there is the crash of thunder! Somehow, water starts to fall from the ceiling into the pool. It is raining inside. The rain is crimson red. The pool is crimson red._

_"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.  
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again."_

**Chapter 4**

Derek wakes up in a cold sweat. "Nooooooooo!" he yells out. He jumps up startled from his bed. Derek then look around to see that he is back in his room. "Another dream. It seemed so real," Derek says while still out of breath. Derek's mom knocks on the door. "Are you ok Derek? I heard yelling. "Yeah, mom. I'm ok. It's nothing! I was just…..playing a video game!" Derek made up on the spot. "Oh, ok Derek, I was just checking on you. Plus, you've been asleep for hours," Derek's mom says. "Hours?" Derek looks at the clock. 7:45! "OMG! I've got to go!" Derek jumps in the shower and gets dressed in ten minutes flat! "Bye mom, bye day and taking Sophia out!" Derek shouts out. "Oh, ok, bye Derek. Drive safe!" his parents say as he's going out the door. "They must have worked things out!" Derek's dad says. "I'm so glad," his mother says. "Sophia is such a sweet girl!"

Derek manages to get the car started after a few tries and then rushes to Sophia's house. He parks the car and runs up to the door. He excitedly rings the doorbell. No answer. After thirty seconds he anxiously rings it again. "No answer? That's weird," Derek thinks. Derek pulls out his phone and texts Sophia that he is outside. No answer. Derek starts to knock on the door. He pulls back his fist to hit on the door again but before he can…the door opens. It is completely dark inside. Derek steps in. "Hello?" "Hello?" He calls out. No answer. He hears a sound from upstairs. "Sophia?" Derek slowly makes his way up the stairs. "Sophia? Is everything ok?" He says. "This is really weird," Derek thinks to himself. It isn't like Sophia to not follow through on something that she commits to….especially with him, right? Especially how they are just now reconnecting. Derek makes his way into the hallway upstairs. Still nothing. There is an eerie feeling in the air. Derek looks out a window in the hall and sees the bright moon shine like a silver dollar in the night sky. Sophia's room. Derek knock. "Sophia." Still no answer. Derek hesitantly puts his hand on the door knob. He takes a long deep inhale and then slowly turns the door knob. Nothing. Darkness. Shadows.

Derek gets out his phone and shines the light throughout the room. Suddenly the light catches two pairs of eyes and reflects off of them like moonlight shining off the eyes of wolves in the night. Derek is startled but before he can think there is a terrible screeching and howling sound like nothing he has heard before and whatever it is leaps across the room and attacks Derek, knocking him to the floor. The creature is holding him down and growling. Long canine fangs are getting closer and closer to his face. It is only then as the light from the window shines in that Derek can see….and comprehend the unfathomable. "Sophia!" "How!" "What's happened to you!?" He yells out. "Sophia, stop, let me hel….," the beast that was Sophia is choking him with hands which seem more like claws around his neck. Out of instinct and desperation, Derek kicks up with his legs making her fly back and hit the wall. She screeches and starts to leap at Derek. He pulls back and clinches his fist and punches her as hard as he can, knocking her down. "Stop, Sophia! Don't m-make m-me hurt you", he cries out. Again, the Sophia creature flies at him and hits him so hard that his back hits against the post of her bed splintering it apart into different pieces. Again, she is on top of his with jaws ever widening and the sharp protruding fangs of death approaching closer. Even, being an athlete, Derek is exhausted. Fighting this creature is taking everything out of him. His mind and his heart are a twisted convulsion of heartbreak, madness and underneath it all, lurks the primal instinct of human survival. Derek, again manages to use his strength to push kick her off of him. This time she goes straight up while continuing to stay in the same position and looking at him the entire time. He knows he didn't hit her that hard, but she flies all the way to the ceiling, with her back and claws and feet all touching the ceiling. She is looking down at him. He knows his strength is running out. He won't be able to fight her off again. She screeches and begins to descend from the ceiling. Instinctively, Derek reaches back and grabs a splintered piece from the bed post and forces it out in front of him. As she falls on him, the sharp splintered wood goes straight through her chest. She shrieks a horrible shriek with what sounds like multiple voices coming out at the same time and then…..silence. Her body falls over lifeless. "Nooooooooooooooooooo!" Derek yells out. Looking at her now, there is no trace of the wild creature that was attacking him. He only sees his sweet Sophia lying dead on the ground with a piece of wood protruding from her chest and blood everywhere. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening," Derek repeats. He is truly losing his grip on reality at this point. He cannot fathom what is real and what is not.

Suddenly, Sophia's door bursts open. It is the police. They have come to help him. To take him to safety to…," "Get up now! The officer yells." "What?" Derek exclaims. "Now! Put your hands up boy!" He puts his hands up. Another officer comes behind him and grabs his arms putting them behind his back and handcuffing him. "Wait, this, this is, a mi-mistake," Derek says tears in his eyes and a trembling voice. "Derek Stoker, you're under arrest for the murder of Sophia James. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to…"

Derek cannot hear anymore words. His fragile mind can take no more. He falls limp and blacks out.

"_Won't you look down upon me, Jesus, You've got to help me make a stand.  
You've just got to see me through another day.  
My body's aching and my time is at hand and I won't make it any other way.  
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.  
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again."_

Derek wakes up in a cold jail cell. He begins to cough. He spits onto the floor. "Seeing his surroundings stuns him to a cold and harsh reality. A reality that is more than he can bare to take. "No, no…NOOOOOOOO!" He cries out. He knows this is night like the horrible dreams he has been having. This is real. Reality is indeed to torturous to take. Most of all, he longs for death, he knows that now. He invites it, a release from the pain of living.

Sophia is really dead.

He is really in a jail cell. "Sophia, Sophia…," he cries to himself.

"She had to go Derek," a voice comes out of the shadows. "Wha?" She steps forward it her.

Her.

Blond over blue over red.

"Amoreena?" "Wha, what is happening?" "Who, who are you? Who are you really?" Derek asks in a desperate voice? "How did you get in here?"

"I am part of what has always been and what shall ever be," Amoreena proclaims.

She tosses some kind of book over to him. "What's this?" "What do you want?" Derek pleas.

"Look" Amoreena declares.

He picks up the book. It is a school yearbook from….1957? From Salem High School. Derek races through the pages until….there she is.

Amoreena.

Amoreena Lugosi.

Looking as young and perfect and she does now except in black and white. "This can't be real, this doesn't make sense," Derek cries out.

"There is no need to worry Derek. There is still much for you to take solace in. After all, I am going to give you the choice I never had."

**The End**

**Epilogue. **

Five minutes later the police guard who was in charge of Derek's cell block, comes through to check on him.

The cell is empty.

An alarm is rung.

Video footage is watched.

Derek is seen standing up and talking to himself at 3 a.m.

The camera footage goes out for a few seconds.

The footage comes back.

No Derek.

Nothing.

How will the guards explain this?

Thunder and lightning crash outside.

It begins to rain…..

**Epilogue 2**

That same night, Steve's cherry red Mustang was found wrapped around an oak tree off of Old Trail rd. Steve was found hanging upside down from the tree 60 ft. in the air. When they finally got his body down, it was interesting to note there was not one drop of blood left in his body. Apparently, he was on his way to a party.


End file.
